The Future Awaits!
by SweetMusicAng3l
Summary: Takes place immediately after the ending of Jak 2. Jak and Keira celebrate with everyone at the Naughty Ottsel, and every moment leading up to a big kiss that they've been trying to get ever since the party started keeps getting interrupted! After a quick get away, they finally get some privacy. ;) Featuring appearances by Samos, Sig, Tess, Pecker, Onin, Torn, Ashelin, and Jinx.
1. Chapter 1

"Jak my boy, the future awaits!"

Fireworks blasted off in the distance, illuminating the sky and making quiet sizzles and faint pops. Their brightness cast a short shadow behind Jak, silhouetted by bright blues, greens and reds. Captivated by the sparks, Jak breathed and turned to his left, smiling fondly back at the old man, "Thanks, Samos. But like I said, I am DONE adventuring for now! I think I'll take a break from this whole 'saving the world' thing for a while. So, what do you say we start by heading back inside and having a drink?" he cocked his head back towards at the Naughty Ottsel and smirked.

"Jak my boy, I would like nothing better!" Samos grinned broadly and slapped him on the back.

Jak stumbled forward a step from the unexpected force, releasing a small puff of air.

"Whoa there, Chilli-pepper! Don't tell me you've gone so soft on me already that _this_ old windbag can take you down!"

They all laughed in unison.

"Sig, you're lucky I thought you were dead until only a few moments ago, otherwise I'd be kicking your ass!" Jak tauntingly pointed a finger.

"Yeah yeah, I'll believe it when I see it! Now come on!" Sig whacked a hard hand onto Jak's metal shoulder plate, "I could use that drink! Besides, I hear Tess makes a mean ale!"

Sig and Samos nodded in agreement as they walked back towards the entrance of Daxter's new bar.

Speaking of which –

"Dax!" Jak looked back and yelled. His orange friend was still scuffling with the colourful bird. Their fight seemed to stop mid-motion when they heard Jak's sharp bark – Daxter was holding back a feathered fist above him, while Pecker had a knee up into Daxter's gut, and both had their eyes wide open in rage.

Jak shook his head and sighed. "Come on guys, haven't we done enough fighting already?" He crossed his arms and smirked.

Daxter stopped and rolled his eyes, knowing his best friend had a good point. "Yeah, yeah, WHAT ever!" Not wanting to be deemed the loser in this fight, he broke his grip on Pecker and brushed himself off. Acting coolly, he stated, "I _guess_ I can just let by-gones be by-gones, for ol' Jak's sake of course. For _now._ " He narrowed his eyes at the bird.

"OHHH!" Pecker squawked. "Why you – ohhh, you are just lucky that I must go take care of Onin now! If she were not drunker than the Baron on dark eco I would be wiping the floor with you!" He howled.

Electricity practically sparked between their eyes as they stared each other down and low growls erupted from within their throats. Jak just rolled his eyes at their incessant squabbling and sighed.

He uncrossed his arms and turned around to leave the two animals to their thing when he almost smushed his body against a small, but very well-endowed blonde.

"Whoa! Sorry Tess!"

"Oh hey Jak! Have you seen that little rascal of mine?" Tess beamed brightly.

Before Jak could say anything, Tess rushed past him and called out, "Oh, Pooky beaaaar!"

As soon as she spotted him, she gushed excitedly, "Oh! There you are, my little Daxter!"

"Huh?" Daxter broke his fixated gaze on the bird.

Tess leaned seductively against the bar door frame. "Why don't you come back inside, my big, strong, man? I'm _dying_ to hear more about how you bagged that gi _normous_ Metal Head all by your lonesome!" She leaned over a bit and exposed her perky cleavage.

"YOWZA!" Daxter's jaw hit the ground, all quarrels instantly forgotten.

"Hold on Snookums, Daddy's comin'!" Daxter raced to the door, and Pecker sulkily followed behind him.

Jak just shook his head and chuckled. _Same old, same old._

But he was glad that even after everything that had happened, the most important things didn't change.

. . . . . . . . . .


	2. Chapter 2

A cheer erupted from the Naughty Ottsel as Jak sauntered through the door.

"Ah! Here's the hero of the hour – Jak, my boy!"

"Have a drink, Chillipepper!"

Many people – most who he assumed were from the Underground – gathered around him and patted him on the back or commended his actions. Jak swelled with pride at their congratulations.

Caught in the excitement of the moment Jak spontaneously leapt onto the table nearest to the door, and raised the glass of beer that Sig had just handed him above the crowd that had now gathered below him,

"A toast!" Jak rose his voice among the chatter. He now had the attention of everyone in the room, their eyes fixated on him under the blinding lights of the bar.

"To everyone who made this day possible. To those who made it, and, to those who didn't." He added with a somber tone.

He then clenched his fist and furrowed his eyebrows indignantly. "Sacrifices had to be made." A hush fell over the crowd.

Jak continued with fervor, "But those sacrifices made our victory over the Metal Heads possible. Without Vin, and so many others, we wouldn't be right here. So here's to them – they made this celebration, and our future, possible. The least we can do to honour their memory is drink to it!"

The crowd hollered in agreement.

"With that being said…" Jak gulped down his drink, and glint of mischief appeared in his eyes, "Let's get ROWDYYY!" He exclaimed as he pumped his empty mug in the air.

The crowd roared with enthusiasm once more, and Daxter dimmed the lights and cranked up the juke box.

Jak jumped down from the table and bumped into just the blue-haired woman he was looking for.

"Keira!"

"Wow Jak, that was a great speech!" Keira crossed her arms and nodded approvingly at the crowd. "You sure are a great leader!"

"Yeah, well…" Jak awkwardly put a hand behind his head. "I wouldn't consider myself much of a leader. I was mostly a grunt because I'm the dark eco freak, remember?"

He smirked. "Besides, I couldn't have done it without you. None of us could have."

Keira rose an eyebrow.

"Hey! Don't be modest, Keira. Your work on the inside was a crucial part of… well, everything." Jak got quiet at the realization.

"Oh really?" Keira said sarcastically. She crossed her arms, popped her hip out to the side and smiled cutely.

Jak shook his head. "C'mon Keira, don't tell me you've forgotten about the Rift Ring already?! If you hadn't rebuilt it, none of this would have happened." Jak waved an arm around the bar. "Metal Kor would still be here, the kid would be dead, and we'd be over-run with Metal Heads by now."

Jak shrugged his shoulders. "It was _you_ who saved the world." His gaze fixed on her face, and he couldn't help but smile with pride at all of her work.

Keira's cheeks flushed. "I, uhh, I didn't think of it that way…"

"Plus, your jet board has saved me from plenty of run-ins with the Krimzon guards." Jak said teasingly.

Keira became somber and didn't respond. Jak's face fell.

 _Did he say something wrong…?_

Keira's light voice broke the silence. "I just… I just wanted to go home…" Her shoulders sagged. She gripped her arm and looked down. Her bottom lip trembled.

. . . . . . . . . .


	3. Chapter 3

Jak stepped forward instinctively and protectively threw an arm around her. "Hey…"

He turned her towards an empty booth and closed the curtain. Sitting beside her and holding her small hands in his, he said, "This is our home now, okay…?"

Keira sniffled as she forced back tears. Jak's heart sunk when he saw the drops forming in her eyes; he hadn't seen Keira cry since they were children. Jak rubbed her slender fingers in an effort to soothe her.

"Look… I know it's not much, but we fought long, and hard for it. Besides, the fact that we're here means that somewhere else out there, there are two little kids - one named Jak, and one named Keira" He spoke softly and sweetly to her, "- And right now, they are meeting for the first time. They are playing on the beach, splashing in the water, and getting into trouble in Sandover Village. And they are safe. And they are happy. And you know what?" Jak tenderly lifted her pouting chin up. Her stunning green eyes peered up at his.

"Those kids are going to grow up. And they're going to live a perfect life, aside from having to deal with their crazy friend Daxter, and a grumpy old eco sage –" Keira giggled, and Jak grinned. "- with no guns, no Metal Heads, and no Barons. And they're going to grow up, go on adventures, and save the world together again."

Jak brought Keira's fingers close to his mouth and gently placed his lips onto them.

"I know how hard you worked. You worked for _years_ on that stupid machine. And I know it didn't get you where you wanted it to.

Keira sighed and wiped her eyes. "See, I told you you make great speeches…"

Jak inched closer and slowly wiped a tear falling down her cheek, as he softly kissed her fingers.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't bring us home."

Keira's heart stopped. She only now just realized, but Jak probably wanted nothing to do with this new future world. This wasn't his home either. Keira looked towards Jak, and saw that his bright blue eyes were misty, and he had become quiet. Keira rushed over to the other side of the booth and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Jak, home is with you."

Jak's heart thumped against his chest.

"I miss Sandover… I will always miss it." She admitted. "But Sandover wouldn't be home without you."

She broke her embrace. "I want more than anything to be home. And, sitting here with you, I know I have it." She smiled up at him.

They looked into each other's eyes. Keira's heart was still fluttering from the sudden affection Jak had shown her. She had gone two years without him, not knowing whether he was alive or dead, and his words, his touch, his little kiss just now… now he felt like a downpour of rain, but without him by her side every day, she felt like a drought. Keira's gut went hard just thinking about how stressful those two years without her family and friends had been…but he was here. Jak was finally here, and he was _right in front of her._

He was… _really_ right in front of her.

Keira's eyes popped. Jak slowly moved his hand onto the side of her waist, and gripped her soft hip. He rubbed a thumb against her skin, and parted his lips.

"I feel… I feel I'm at home with you too…" Jak smiled in disbelief. She described exactly what he had always felt around her. She always found the right things to say. Keira blushed and grinned back up at him.

They both knew the moment was right. Without any more words, Jak slowly leaned in towards Keira's face. They both closed their eyes and breathed deeply, their lips inches away from each other, hearts pounding, hands trembling, and –

 _Crash!_

. . . . . . . . . .


	4. Chapter 4

"DAXTER! DAXTER! DAXTER!"

Jak and Keira abruptly jerked away from each other at the sudden noise. A very drunk Jinx had torn down the curtain and clambered into the booth seat that Keira had previously occupied. Keira squeaked in surprise and clutched at Jak's chest. Jak instinctively threw his arm in front of Keira, and growled at the intruder.

"Whoaaa! Hey hey hey! Pretty Boy!" Jinx slurred. His cigar was hanging loosely from his fingers, making ash splatter all over the table. "Your friend is getting _crazy_ \- The crowd's going wild!" He pointed towards the bar with a half empty beer mug, sloshing some onto the booth's table top.

Keira and Jak poked their heads around the booth quickly, only to rolls their eyes. Daxter had practically started a riot at the bar. He was reclined back as Tess was pouring him something from a funnel, with the crowd chanted in sync "Chug! Chug! Chug!" with every gulp he took. The last remaining drops fell into Daxter's mouth. Even with a swollen belly, he lazily swiped his mouth with his arm, hopped up and threw peace signs at his watchers. They roared in excitement. Daxter stumbled sideways and slurred "Thiiiis next round… izz on ME EVRY ONE! Come on… ledz do som SHOTS!" He drunkenly pumped a fist in the air.

The crowd cheered as Tess started pouring mugs of ale after the other as everyone came to collect on Daxter's offer. Samos only rolled his eyes and quickly hovered over to the edge of the table where he caught Daxter's foot with his hand, and kept him from face planting into the jungle juice that had formed on the floor below. A ball of energy quickly formed within his hands, and he vaguely mumbled something about 'alcohol poisoning' and 'responsibility'.

Jak and Keira sighed. That was Daxter for you.

"Sheesh Blondie, you're pretty quiet! And here I thought you would have been happy to see me! Ah well, I'm going to go *hiccup* take Daxter up on that round of shots…" And as quickly as he had come, he was gone.

With Jinx stumbling off to the Naughty Ottsel's bar to meet the naughty ottsel himself, Jak and Keira were finally alone again.

But… they knew that the moment had passed. A bunch of drunks tumbling into the middle of a big moment isn't exactly the "big kiss" Jak had in mind.

Jak sheepishly looked away and awkwardly put his hand behind his head again once he realized what a disaster that could have been, while Keira twiddled with her fingers and blushed crimson red with the same realization.

They both looked at each other nervously and chuckled.

"Looks like Jinx is enjoying himself – I say it's about time we do too." Jak said with a cheeky grin. He offered a hand to Keira.

Keira wrapped her fingers in between Jak's as he started pulling the curtain away, but not before bumping into a pair of red heads.

"Torn! Asheling! Hey, you made it!" Jak said excitedly.

"Watch it, tough guy." Torn growled, "I don't do touchy stuff." He sniffed and looked away.

The red head beside him sighed. "Sorry, what he _means_ to say is that we didn't know this booth was taken." Ashelin smiled apologetically.

"Yeah…whatever." Glancing up, Torn decided to warm up. It _was_ a huge victory that they were celebrating, after all, and his entire resistance movement would have failed if it weren't for the eco-freak in front of him.

"Ah hell, it's good to see you jakky-boy." He gripped hands with Jak in greeting, and gave him a casual two-fingered salute. Jak returned the gesture as torn regained his casual cross-armed stance.

"We were just about to grab a drink, care to join us?" Jak offered politely.

"Maybe later; this guy owes me a dance." Ashelin winked, giving them a wave before she dragged Torn to the middle of the dance floor (with some slight resistance).

 _But I don't dance!_

 _You already made us late to this party Torn, don't give me another reason to be mad at you!_

 _Ash, it's not my thing –_

 _Torn as the governor I am ORDERING you to dance with me!_

 _Aaaaghhhh… Yes sir. I MEAN yes ma'am, wait, I mean…_

Jak and Keira laughed at their banter, and the sight of a Krimzon guard uniform illuminated by disco lights bouncing off of armored bracers as Torn awkwardly moved his hands in what seemed to be his attempt at dancing.

Jak put an arm around Keira's waist.

"Alright, I am _done_ with all these interruptions! It's time for _us_ to have some fun." Jak mischievously grinned and gripped Keira even tighter.

Keira laughed and followed him to the bar, where drinks were on tap for free for the hero of the night.


	5. Chapter 5

It was an hour later, and the Naughty Ottsel had reached the peak of its wildness. Most of the Underground members had shown up, along with any Krimzon guards who had remained loyal to Ashelin and served as her spies (out of uniform, of course). The bar was buzzing with the thrill of intoxication and long-awaited freedom. Most had a drink in their hand, and even more had heard one of Daxter's over exaggerated Metal Head stories at least twice (there's no telling how many Tess had heard at this point).

Some guests had taken to the ring in the middle of the room to blow off some steam and test their mettle against their comrades and friends. Lots of singles were also blowing off a different kind steam of their on the dance floor, especially since the formalities of the battle were behind them for the night:

"'Not likely' my ass!" Ashelin smirked as Torn sloppily gyrated on her, remembering what he had said about his dancing before they had left for the party back in the palace.

"Well, these moves become _more_ likely with the more drinks you keep putting into my hand. Speaking of ass…" Torn slurred slightly as he grabbed at Ashelin's behind.

Ashelin gasped in surprise (and slight arousal…) before quickly moving his hand to her waist to suppress any public affection. It wasn't very professional for the new Governor of Haven City to be getting it on with the new commander of her new Krimzon guards after all, especially in public!

"It certainly doesn't help that Daxter keeps giving them away for free!" Ashelin tried changing the subject, and cocked her head back at the bar where the orange ottsel was exaggerating another one of his metal head stories, his palms raised to his dwindling crowd:

" _So THERE I WAS! Cornered, by theee BIGGEST Metal Head you ever sawww! I wuz ready to put up a fight, but all ten of 'em had me surrounded…"_

Torn kept playfully grabbing at Ashelin until she could no longer suppress her wicked, impish grin and lured him into a nearby booth by the collar as he giggled naughtily. The curtains flew closed, and a faint smacking of lips, the unzipping of clothes, and clanks of armour being shed onto the metal booth table could be heard by those standing nearby, who quickly changed their positions when Ashelin gave them a side-eye and a raised eyebrow.

As for Keira and Jak, they had spent the last hour catching up on the two years that they had missed out on over drinks with Daxter – not that he needed any more.

"Wait wait wait, you're saying that the only reason we found each other again was because of _Krew?!_ " Keira's high-pitched voice rose above the clatter of the bar.

"Yeah, I mean if you hadn't requested a racer, I would have never found the stadium." Jak admitted, carefully trying not to botch his words from the influence of the alcohol.

"Wow," Keira leaned back drunkenly. "To believe we owe it all to the 'big guy' Krew…"

"LITERALLY!" Daxter chimed in. His eyes were quite glazed over, but he laid on his belly and stared dreamily up at his two best friends with his hands holding up his cheeks, gently kicking his feet back and forth in sync with his wagging tail.

"'Cuz… youu know… Krew was… OH BOY! So big…*hiccup* I luv youu guyzzz…" Daxter clambered across the bar and gripped onto a finger of both Jak and Keira in each of his hands before face planting into the bar table top and sniffling emotionally.

"Whoa ho, okay Dax, time for you to take a break!" Jak quickly took another [miniaturized] drink from him, and made a cutting motion across his neck with his hand toward Tess at the bar. She winked back and started pouring water into a Daxter-sized glass. Jak sat his best pal up and offered him the water, which Daxter began gulping back heartily, no doubt thinking that it was more alcohol.

Jak rolled his eyes and took a swig from his own mug, nearly choking on the liquid inside. Sputtering, Jak said, "Gees Tess, what's in this stuff?" He was nearly choking from the strength of the ale, and pumped a fist into his chest to clear his throat.

"It's a secretttt!" Tess sung as she winked and gave him a huge grin as she waggled her finger in front of Jak's nose. "Plus, the other Underground members don't seem to mind it!" She turned towards the bar to serve several more customers her concoction when she noticed a lump of orange fur grasping at straws, literally, on the counter.

"Oh, my poor Daxter!" Tess gasped as she saw him sloppily trying to tuck himself in with a cocktail napkin and use a lime as a pillow, holding a straw like a stuffed animal. She grabbed him by the scruff as he smacked his lips sleepily, and put him in the corner of the bar where she could keep an eye on him.

"Well, it looks like Daxter's out for the night!" Jak chuckled, staring at his now rag-doll friend propped up in the corner.

"One more for the road?" He offered his remaining best friend. Jak nodded at Tess, who quickly served them two shots of tequila with a lime.

Keira grinned, cheek's already flushing from the influence of her drinks (particularly Tess's ale… seriously, what was in that stuff?!), and lifted her glass to Jak's. "I propose a toast, to us." She started, "We travelled through time, we saved the world – twice! – and now… we're here. I didn't think this day was ever going to come – so this is to us!"

"To us!" They both gleefully cheered as they clinked and downed their drink, wrinkling their noses at the strength before smushing a lime into their teeth.

Jak stood quickly, stumbling slightly with the sudden alcohol making him unbalanced and grabbed Keira's hand, guiding her off of her bar stool.

"Wait, you said something about the road; where are we going?" Keira peered up at the handsome blonde hero in front of her.

Jak looked down at the beautiful blue haired mechanic in front of him and beamed, "To dance."


	6. Chapter 6

Jak weaved through a crowd of bumbling Underground members and Krimzon guards, having to shoulder through a few who were stumbling about. Keira flew off of her barstool as Jak swung her playfully onto the dance floor, catching her firmly by the waist and moving to the music without missing a beat.

Keira gasped in shock at how smooth Jak's movements were, her own hardly able to keep up with him. He gracefully stepped left, then right, then left again as he dominated the center of the room.

"How are you…when did you…" Keira sputtered.

Jak shrugged. "It just comes natural."

He smiled cheekily and twirled her around.

Keira rolled her eyes at his sarcasm, but couldn't help but laugh as she was whirled expertly around the dance floor by Jak.

Keira smiled, and eventually got into a rhythm of her own. Her hips swivelled against his, her feet stepping backwards and forwards in time with his as he led her by the hand. Jak had a strong arm wrapped around her midriff, thumbing her silky smooth skin exposed by her white cropped top. Keira put an arm around his neck and gently tugged at his long blonde hair, still amazed that it had gotten so long to the point where it drooped down over his shoulders.

"I think we need to get this cut." She said teasingly, fingering a particularly long strand over his shoulder within her palm.

"Yeah…?" Jak had a quizzical look on his face. He looked down questioningly at the abundance of blonde hair trailing down his shoulder, not completely realizing that it had gotten so long himself. A hair cut wasn't the first thing on his mind after escaping prison and defeating the Metal Head leader, but he had to admit that it was _much_ longer than he'd like it to be. He frowned at the yellow-green mane poofing from behind him now, suddenly very aware of its existence.

Keira perked up and chimed out. "Yeah! I think you'd look really cute…" She stopped to blush at the compliment she had given Jak, not entirely meaning to say it out loud.

"Hm. I'll think about it." He winked at her.

They continued to dance the night away, swaying drunkenly as Daxter's free shots caught up them. Their brains buzzed with excitement and alcohol, making the lights seem brighter and their light touches against each other's skin become bolder and bolder.

It was a few hours later, and the party had died down. A slow song begun to play to encourage party-goers off of the stage as Tess swept up broken glass, glinting with bright oranges and reds from the disco ball above.

The only people who hadn't stopped dancing were Jak and Keira. They were slowly swaying with each other hidden away in the corner of the bar by the juke box.

As his forehead was pressed against hers, eyes closed with the intimacy of the slowed beat of the song, he whispered to her, "Hey… do you want to get out of here…?"

Keira nodded fervently.

She leapt across the bar to grab her brown leather coat and goggles that she had left with Tess behind the counter for safe-keeping.

Keira shouted a quick good bye to her father on the other end of the bar, giving him a peck on the cheek in her rush as he tended to the unconscious Daxter with his green eco. No words needed to be exchanged as Samos looked across the bar to where Keira was enthusiastically leaping towards. The old sage offered a warm smile and a solemn nod towards the boy, knowing she was in good hands.

Jak smiled and nodded back, silently indicating that he would keep her safe.

Keira zoomed towards jak, grasping his hand and flying out of the door.

"Where are we going!" Jak sputtered, too tipsy to realize that his body had left the bar and was now running at full speed down the concrete sidewalk.

Keira smiled mischievously as she whipped around a corner, looking back at him as their hands fell apart and he stood in the middle of the sidewalk in shock. He saw a shadowy glimpse of her nimble body as it leapt onto something hidden in a dark corner, which beamed with light and energy seconds after she sat on it. A loud roar erupted from the alleyway as Keira revved the throttle of her personal zoomer. She sped over to Jak and screeched to a halt in front of him, his mouth gaping widely.

"On an adventure!" She yelled over the loud thrum of the zoomer.

Jak smirked impishly, and jumped onto the back of the machine, thrusting his hands around her mid-section to keep balance.

Keira pulled up her goggles and grinned, "Let's ride."


	7. Chapter 7

Jak's body jerked forward as Keira gunned the zoomer at an incredibly fast pace. Her aqua-blue hair whipped into his face, stinging him a bit. He gripped her waist tighter, realizing he was much more inebriated than he had thought and was actually having a bit of difficulty sitting up straight. But…it actually made things more enjoyable.

This was the first time Jak was actually able to relax. For once his heart was pounding with joy and excitement, rather than fear and trying to fight his way out of a bad situation to keep himself alive. And he felt very, very alive right now.

Jak gave a whoop as Keira used a rail to grind on, bright yellow sparks flying off like sparklers beneath them. He gazed at the light show in awe, his cerulean blue eyes capturing every moment of their little dance. His lungs breathed in the fresh, crisp air of the black night until Keira did an incredibly quick U-turn, leaving Jak gasping for air as he yelped when he saw she was headed straight for the massive lake in front of the bar.

"Keira!" He shouted.

He felt her stomach twitching as she laughed maniacally, and that was when Jak realized that she was just as drunk as he was. For a split second he thought about how dangerous it could be, before his instincts took over and reminded him that these were the kinds of moments that he lived for. And he was absolutely enthralled by his childhood friend to see that she was just as much as a dare-devil as he was. Even though her eyes were green, Jak could swear he saw a fire burning in them.

She swerved at the last second, but only to take a ramp heading down to the sapphire- blue water. She gunned her zoomer as hard as she could once again, the throttle pushed so far down that it reached the handle bars, and meeting the other end of the water body in only seconds. Jak was impressed – she obviously made her own modifications to her machine. It was much more sophisticated than anything he had ever seen before; faster, with better handling, and knowing Keira, likely much more efficient on energy than anything that the Krimzon guards, let alone Haven citizens, would have access to. His heart tingled a bit with admiration at how intelligent she was as she looped around the towers in the middle of the lake.

"You said you wanted to get out of here, right?" She shouted above the grinding gears of her machine and the splashing of water beneath them.

Jak leaned his head forward so that she could hear better. "Yeah! Have anything in mind?"

Keira cheekily bit her lip before shouting back, "I know a place!"

"Your place?" Jak grinned, equally as saucy.

Keira flashed a coquettish grin towards him, twisting the throttle repeatedly before screaming, "Okay! Hold on tight!"

She sped forward at a break-neck speed, dashing onward into the night.

Keira had turned right from the Naughty Ottsel, down on to the road that led to Haven's South gardens, the most scenic route to take on a starry evening. Haven definitely wasn't as breathtaking as Sandover Village was, but Keira always enjoyed taking walks through the North gardens that were closer to the stadium, remembering looking at the ferns in particular when she was all alone and still looking for her father, not to mention her friends.

But even better to her? Was zooming right through them.

Too drunk to think about repercussions, she had zoomed right in to the flower beds, churning up dirt and blue flowers as her zoomer whooshed through them. The cool night's air whistled through hers and Jak's pointed ears, which were becoming increasingly colder the faster that they went.

A loud chopping noise, and then a thunk was heard as her rear propellers got stuck on the beige gourd-shaped vegetables planted along the edges of the wall. Keira groaned audibly before shutting off the zoomer, and faster than lightening was on the ground fixing it before Jak could even dizzily fall off it, whooping and hollering loudly at the rush of adrenaline streaming through his veins.

His head was spinning, but in the best way possible. He couldn't help but grin like a fool, and laugh at everything – how crazy this was, how crazy _she_ was, and how crazy he was for loving every moment of it. The stars spun in a circle above his head, and the twinkling white lights couldn't stop him from falling over and over again.

He finally managed to stumble away towards a wooden fence and lean on it for some much needed balance. He was startled by a sudden slimy tongue licking the left side of his hair straight up, before realizing that he had stumbled straight into a yakow pen. Jak sloppily pet the brown fuzzy creature, gently whispering drunken affection to it as Keira grumbled loudly in the background as she pried the shell out from fan, repulsed from the orange gunk oozing from within her racing automobile.

After a few minutes she waved Jak over, but not before he gave the yakow a cute kiss on the nose for listening to his intoxicated ramblings of honestly who knows what at this point, because Jak certainly couldn't remember. He didn't know if he had been standing in that yakow pen for a minute or an hour – and he loved it. He loved not knowing, and not caring. He loved the spinning feelings, and the beat of his heart, the alcohol in his blood, and the smell, and sight of everything bright and fragrant. He was finally free – from prison, from war, and just… care-free in general.

He realized he was having… _fun_. For the first time in a long time, he was having fun. And he was loving it.


End file.
